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Story & Pix by David Ogot © 2003

Recent research, shows that use of tobacco products like cigarettes can lead to very painful monthly periods in girls and and in older women, painful intercourse.

This was the message by Dr. Peter Gaku, a clinical pharmacist and a consultant with the National Agency for the Campaign Against Drug Abuse (NACADA) during a one day drugs awareness seminar held on the 4th octber at Nyangua Secondary School, Kiritiri, Mbeere District.

The function organised by NACADA saw the gathering of a whopping 2,034 students from 15 high schools and five primary schools and 91 teachers all hosted by Nyangua Secondary for the dissemination of this crucial message.

Dr. Gaku informed the gigantic group that other tragic side effects for women resulting from use of cigarettes or tobacco included miscarriages, infertility and barreness.

This was not strange considering that tobacco was one of the most dangerous plants in the world "with 4,028 different poisons according to the last research done by the World Health Organisation (WHO) concentrated in one plant.

Out of these, 40 are the biggest cancer causing agents in the world. Furthermore, nine of these cause 90% of all cancers in the world."

Tobacco was also an environmental disaster for not even the soil escaped the effects of this most poisonous of plants "for it removes nutrients and stocks them in it's leaves and bark leavig the soil with nothing." In fact tobacco is so poisonous that "if a lot of tobacco leaves were put in one place and you are thrown in naked, tomorrow you would come out dead."

Bhangi (marijuana) and tobacco had no medical benefits and if you wanted to stop bhang all you had to do was stop as there was no physical addiction, all you had to do was stop. maybe there would be a little headache etc. but these would go after some time.

As for cigarette smoking, the most important thing is the decision to stop. "I gave a fellow some anti-smoking patches, and he threw them under his bed. After one month came back and threw the whole pack at me said it was interfering with his smoking. So that was a fellow who had not yet decided.

So what we are doing here is giving you the knowledge so that you don't as in the bible Hosea says 'my ppeople are vanishing because of lack of knowledge.' 10% of you here will be useless as they get caught up in addiction." Rehabilitation is expensive so "most families will rather you become garbage and cabbage rather than sell their last chicken to help you.

But the main thing also is that we are soon going for the Christmas holidays where there will be all kinds of drinks available. Then as you go to the loo substances are added to your drinks. In Nairobi this is very common as girls are targetted and the span from the last thing you remeber to when you become fully awke an be three days.

During those three days you don't know whether you were married or not. This is what is happening. So if you leave your drink unattended, when you come back do not drink it at all," was Gaku's final stern warning.

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